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A Blog for those who have fun with science fiction, popular culture etc. I'll be following, movies and TV. Especially fond of 12 Monkeys, The X-Files, Orphan Black, Fringe, Dr. Who, James Bond, and the like.

Orphan Black - To The Point

The Hidden Pencil Trick

Did anyone feel badly for Rachel when she was delivered the business end of the pencil in the Orphan Black finale?

I have to admit, I didn't really.

I had some sympathy for her earlier in the season and even harbored the theory she may be the "inside" person the clones badly needed in order to free and cure Cosima. She also pulled a few heartstrings when Duncan had his tea bag moment.

Alas, when Sarah called her a psychopath I'm afraid she was right. She is definitely unhinged.

I'm not the only one who thought Rachel had her "Joker" moment when she laughed deliriously at her home movies during the previous episode. "Love that Smylex!" came to mind from the Tim Burton "Batman" movie and so did the Joker's hidden pencil trick from "The Dark Knight." See below.

Ta da!

It seems we have some Joker fans on the writing staff of Orphan Black.

The only thing that was out of the ordinary about this whole sequence is that it came about from the most innocent of clones, Cosima.

There's nothing a little science can't fix.

Crackpot Theory

During Sarah's "unconditional surrender" moment she admitted to having an abortion under interrogation. I see this as pretty significant.

How ironic and painful to see the one clone (ok, two) that can actually give birth, choose to terminate a pregnancy. Sarah seemed especially saddened to divulge this truth. Imagine how the other clones would feel if they were ever to learn this.

It reminded me of the poignant reunion scene between Kira and Helena. Once again, Helena displays a deeper attachment to Kira than the other clones.

What is with these two?

Remember the drawing from the episode, "Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things" that appeared in Helena's lair? To me, it showed an unhealthy obsession between Helena and Kira. I even thought Helena had once given birth to a child.

Okay I'll just say it, is Kira actually Helena's child?

I know there are a lot of gaps to fill but this is science fiction. The child Sarah thought she had was really the abortion she experienced. And for what ever reason, Helena has no memory of the child she brought to term and gave birth to.

Call it induced amnesia or perhaps some sort of shared trauma between Sarah and Helena that wiped their memories clean from that period. Whatever it was, that is my crackpot theory, Kira belongs to Helena.

St. Mark

There was some more religious allegory delivered in this episode and this time it was in the person of Mark. Or St. Mark as I call him. (Castor, if anyone still has faith in Greek mythology.)

So we learned Mark is a clone. In Christianity, St. Mark was known as the "Evangelist." He traveled far and wide delivering the word of Christ as told to him by St. Peter. St. Mark eventually landed in Alexandria and founded the Church of Alexandria.

Like his saintly namesake, our Mark has traveled far and wide, including going AWOL from the Army (I guess that was a clue, thanks Henrik). Mark's travels continue as he is now on the run with Gracie.

No worries, there seems to be plenty of Marks around in this man's Army.

Here's a thought, if the female clones are rendered infertile do you suppose the curse of the male clones is eventual insanity?

The "Mark" immediately above looks a little off his rocker. He is deeply scarred across the face and there seemed to be several bullet exit wounds across his back. He could be exhibiting some sort of PTSD. Maybe our Mark escaped this fate by going AWOL. Perhaps any sort of combat situation drives the male clones insane. Imagine the Army wanting to fill Divisions with cloned male combat troops only to be thwarted by their aversion to war.

Man, this show is getting a little scary.

Lost and Fringe Moments

Anyone that had read my musing on Fringe knows about my obsession with geodesic domes. The domes were liberally sprinkled amongst the episodes of Fringe and they were the invention of Buckminster Fuller. So good to see them paid homage to here.

Oh, we're not done with Fringe yet, the Golden Ratio!

One of the holy grails of Fringe. So obvious and so amazing. Fringe will always be with us.

Speaking of TV obsessions of mine, how about Lost?

It got a nod also with Cosima's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" reference. The mythology of Lost and Alice were nearly inseperable during it's hayday.

I'm running out of time today and I have a lot more to write about including thoughts on this young thing....

Comments

From the bottom up, then. (speaking of which, no bottoms in this episode!) The eight year old girl... I don't think she is Sarah's daughter. The new woman (forget her name) said Sarah was technically the little girl's aunt, so that begs the question: test tube or one of the other clones? The woman said they had tried several hundred times, I think, to create new clones, and the little girl was the only survivor.

Yes I was shocked when Sarah said she'd had an abortion. How? Performed by who? Was Cal the father also? I think not. I would bet it was Vic the Dick.

The domes - I was trying to remember what they were, thanks for mentioning that. Golden Ratio, took my hat off to Fringe right there. As for Through the Looking Glass, didn't Walter also bring that up when they were dealing with the "mirror" contraption thing in season 2 (thereabouts?)

You had your lighting effects again when we all thought Cosima was dead... :-) Was it not curious that she had her "vision" when Kira "laid her hands" on Cosima?

May I admit to giving a few deep sighs of resignation when these scenes keep coming up. Well, maybe there is a good reason for them, down the road; and granted, it's all fiction anyway. :-p

I have many points I want to blog about on this season of OB, mostly positive, as I really think that, generally, this show breaks a lot of new ground for genre tv, and maybe storytelling in general.

The one thing I cringed at a little (though not much) was Rachel and the Pencil. Not at all because I was sad to see her bite it, but because the whole scene felt a little weak plotwise, compared to the rest of the show. I mean, Sarah being able to get away with staring at her "weapon" and them getting Rachel to be in just the right place? Really? Ok, it was satisfying (totally), but... really? Cosima and Kira working out the science to make it happen was fabulous, and Mr Geek stepping up to help was just as wonderful, but..... I don't know. Sarah playing it out just didn't work for me.

But those are small complaints, because I really did totally like the episode, and watched twice. Second time with my daughter! Finally. Not sure she get on board, but she watched once and I KNOW her curiosity was piqued.

I never saw Mark as the clone coming, and really liked that. It seems very logical and ironic (and he sometimes looks evil enough to carry it off).

I could go on and on but must stop. Great post as usual Dave! And now, bring on Doctor Who.

Right, Marian ( the Christian allegory to her would be the adjective to all things related to the Virgin Mary. Hmm, virgin.) said she was Kira's aunt but they were going to stick with cousin to make things easier to understand. I did say there were a few gaps to fill in these theories! Plus, I don't think there is any reason to completely trust Marian either. I think she deals in partial or half truths. So we'lll see how this all pans out.

Oh, and yes, we were bereft of out tushie quotient these past episodes! What's up with that?

Vic the Dick as the original father? Why not?!!! More to this secret will out and I'm sure Vic will find out. I'm betting on Alison blabbing.

I saw more of the lighting effect but decided not to comment on it. I didn't want to belabor the issue but do find it very effective. I never heard back from the director on twitter to see if I got his my interpretation of his work right. Odd.

I'm inured to all the pencil in the eye stuff. Being a Batman fan it is old hat to me. (Ha!) Yes, it was an extremely lucky shot. But as Lynne would say that is TV for you.

Did you know they were going to kill off Mark by the sixth episode? They fell in love with the actor and decided to keep him on. The same thing happened to the Felicity character on "Arrow". Luck, timing and talent!

I did see Peter Capaldi! I just posted - real quick-like - on Facebook last night about that. I was happy to see him in something to get a feel for what might be coming up, since I don't know the actor at all. I can't wait for Doctor Who to start!

I completely agree that well, that's TV for you, and like I said, I'm totally fine with that. It was just a bit of a face-slap moment for me. The interaction between Rachel and (dang I forget his name) her father was heartbreaking, even though I was happy to see Rachel get that very lucky pencil. Rachel has been robbed of basic love and attachment, and a bitchy as she is, she didn't want to lose I-forget-his-name. Duncan. That's it. Much as I dislike Rachel, I felt horrible for her in that scene, and it was one of my favorites from that episode.

Seeing as Vic WAS Sarah's main squeeze for a while, it makes sense that he would be the father of that aborted baby, and it was evident it really hurt Sarah to think of it. Seeing as he was abusive and she wanted to leave him when OB began, it seems logical to put those things together. 'Course, this show sure does like to mess with things so who knows... lol...

And you're not allowed to have gaps in your theories, Dave! :-p Just kidding... :-)

I'm REALLY curious as to what the army will do with Helena. I've got no theories on that one.

Did you ever see the zombie movie, "World War Z?" The Brad Pitt vehicle? Capaldi was in that too. I thought he was pretty good. Small role but good.

My original take on the Rachel scene with the dying Duncan was that she was horrified and saddened to see him go. Then I started to second guess myself and thought she was really saddened about losing the knowledge he possessed.

But I'm happy with my first thoughts and I truly believe she was torn up on and seeing him die. He looked pretty torn up over her reaction too. But don't you think it was a slap at what she had become that he found no other alternative than to kill himself? He must of thought his daughter had become a monster without redemption.

This scene gets worse the more I think about it.

Do you see Vic as a more sympathetic character now? Now that he is straight he is pretty funny. The other guy was a complete dick but the new version hilarious whether he intends it or not.

Oh come now, does a bottom/tush have to be exposed to get noticed? Alison was giving Felix's bum some attention on the dance floor, I think that counts.

Totally agree on the Joker reference with the pencil trick. While I liked Cosmia going all MacGyver the execution was a little contrived. Shock value to be sure, do you think this will help Rachel see the light? Doubt it. I actually thought this stunt would have fit thematically with the last episode with the jackhammer and Helena poking Henrik.

I didn't have much to say about last week, but history repeated with another lab burnt down, via Helena this time.

Speaking of Helena, she got abducted again to bookend the season. Poor girl finally meets and is accepted by her family and it lasts all of a few hours. Her interaction with Kira was again completely charming. I don't know if I'm on board with her being Kira's real mom, but they definitely have a connection. Her dancing was of course dangerous, but at least this time she wasn't waving a severed tail in the air.

The Castor clones. So do you think Mark is self aware? Did the Proletheans know? So the myth goes Leda had twin sons (different dads) Castor and Pollux. So is there another male clone line besides the Marks? Marion's pet clone sure reminded me of S1 Helena, especially the scars on the back.

Paul and Siobhan. Completely frustrated with them frankly. All this subterfuge about allegences is tiresome. I was hoping Roger Cross (character's name escapes me) would pop up again to shed some light on Siobhan, but no. Duncan. Why hide all this time only to kill yourself just when you have a chance to fix some mistakes? He didn't seem particularly distraught, more like resigned to his fate. I don't get it, at all, but hey thanks for the decoder ring, bye now.

I loved the pillow talk scene (AKA every Fringe reference ever), especially since Cosima mentioned bees! What is it with bees?!

Thanks for all the blog posts Dave, and thanks for helping convince me to check out this show. I'm glad I did. -Lynne

I picked up on the tushie pat Alison was giving to Fee on the dance floor. It was cute. She's not the dancer her sisters are. (Odd, since she's played by the same actress.) It was an amazing sequence and I intend to blog further on it if I can find the time. (Maybe Friday.)

Do I think Rachel will see the light? I don't think she got the point. (See that, more pencil humor.)

I'm going to have to work on a Helena crackpot theory. There has to be something about her abduction. (And the eggs she left behind.) I agree the Siobhan/Paul thing is getting a little frustrating. I get the feeling they haven't quite thought it out.

Is Mark self aware? That's a good question. I'm saying he is. Did Henrik know that? Hmmm, I think not, maybe, but I think not.

Duncan did say, "My poor Rachel" but it was almost as if he was talking to someone else in the room. Perhaps he was. The joyful little girl he used to know.

Too bad they killed him off I rather liked Duncan. Especially when he was able to switch between "Birdman" mode and scientist. He could have offered a good fatherly perspective too. Like being a "Charlie" to all the "Angels" that are his clones.

I don't think the abortion reveal was anything relevant to the plot, I imagine the writers included it because it's a deeply personal question and it showed how intrusive they were being and that Sara can have other children so Kira is not just an anomaly.